Quick and Easy Meals for the week

This Saturday is my craft fair!!! I have a long to do list, but It's doable. So our menu is short and sweet this week.

Monday-Pigs in a Blanket, Salad & Steamed Veggies & grapes

Tuesday-BBQ Pork Roast in the Crock pot, Salad, Steamed Veggies & Watermelons

Wednesday-Dinner at Church

Thursday-Sweet & Sour Pork over Rice, Broccoli & Watermelon

Friday-My sweet husband is taking my son out so I can focus.

Saturday-Eating at the CRAFT FAIR & pot luck for dinner I'm bringing Spanish Rice & ???? Fruit or Salad

Sunday-HUBBY'S BIRTHDAY MEAL Fried Tacos, Chips & Salsa, Spanish Rice

Meal Plan

It's another odd week for our family, we're in two cities for a few days, but we're making it work.

Here's the plan:

Monday- Chicken Parmesan Fingers over Garlic Spaghetti, Cooked Carrots & Salad

Tuesday- (Breakfast) Blueberry Overnight Coffee Cake
Veggie Hamburger Soup in the crockpot for my husband & biscuits (take a little with us for dinner)

Wednesday- Leftover Soup for hubs (Spaghetti for us)

Thursday-Hubs enjoying dinner with friends (Grilled Cheese & Canned Soup for us)

Friday-Eating at a football game, I'm assuming it will be burgers.

Saturday-My husband's 10 year reunion!

Sunday- With Family

I told you it was a little weird week. I'm looking forward to some normalcy, but from the looks of the next month this might be normal. I hope your meal plan looks better than mine this week. Need some ideas check out Meal Plan Monday's Home over at Org Junkie.

Erica

Back to the Kitchen

The last few days we have been enjoying "tasty" microwaveable meals in the waiting room of the hospital. I am very thankful there was a microwave for visitors, it certainly was a blessing. But I think we are all dying for some real food, the kind that the veggies are not rehydrated.

Since my dad had his transplant he has been doing very well. We have felt the hand of God working the past few days. He truly has taken our worries away. Since our toddler cannot go into my dad's room we returned back home and I'm very thankful for this little break.

This week's menu will reflect a few things I picked up at my parent's house that needed to be eaten before they spoiled. Which include lots of produce!!! I had to change up my original menu a bit, but thankfully don't have many things to pick up this week at the grocery store.

Breakfast:
Bagels &Fruit
English Muffins & Fruit
Toast & Fruit
Cold Cereal & Fruit

Lunch:
Leftovers

Dinner:
Monday-Sausage Cheese Balls, Zucchini, Side Salad & Watermelon
Tuesday-Hot Dogs, Coleslaw, Corn on the Cob
Wednesday-BBQ cups, Coleslaw, Corn on the Cob
Thursday-Tuna Burgers, Peas, Side Salad
Friday-Kristie's Magically Moist Chicken, side salad & peas
Saturday-Wedding
Sunday-I have no idea, hopefully I'll have some leftovers around

Now I better go tackle that heaping mountain of laundry. For more meal plans check out Org Junkie.

Happy Meal Planning!
Erica

This Week's Menu

I'm loving 3 day weekends, which means a short work week too. Our week's kind of goofy but I'm excited for it none the less. I'll admit I've not put any thought into what we'll have for breakfasts or lunches. I guess I better get thinking, let me know if you have any good ideas.

Monday-Grilled Pizza! (Can't wait to try it!) w/corn and side salad and watermelon
Tuesday-Eggplant Parmesan, over spaghetti noodles, salad & watermelon

Wednesday-Dinner at church to kick off kids program

Thursday-Sausage Cheese Balls, Cooked Carrots, zucchini

Friday-Leftovers or breakfast for dinner

Saturday-Going to a dear friends wedding.

Sunday-Muffaletta (we usually toast ours and since we're not big olive eaters I use capers), chips, peas

For more great menus check out Org Junkie!

Menu for the Week

Here's my meal plan for the week. I do have several new recipes (asterisks beside them) including sourdough bread, I can't believe I've never made it before. I'm really excited to give it a go. I'd appreciate any tried and trusted sourdough recipes you'd like to share with me. I'm a little intimidated by what I've read, but that's half the fun, right!

I'm also still plugging away with my 30 day shred, level three. I'm hoping to add some 2 mile jogs in this week. I've really missed them.

Breakfast: Same old, same old, might make some homemade yogurt again this week. We really enjoyed our smoothies and I really enjoyed the variety of mustache colors on my toddler's face each morning.

Lunch: Salad, leftovers, and sandwiches

Dinner:
Monday- *Mexican Pot Roast (modifying for Crockpot), mashed potatoes & salad

Tuesday-(Doubling for friends w/ a new baby) *Quick Crescent Taco Bake, Rice, Fruit & Amish Friendship Bread
Wednesday- * Slow Cooker Ratatouille over Steamed Rice & fruit

Thursday- BLTs on *homemade sourdough, steamed zucchini (I'm using this starter for the sourdough, but using potato water)

Friday-Leftovers or *Kristie's Magically Moist Chicken, Rolls Baked Sweet Potatoes, Salad
Saturday- Pasta Party: Garlic Spaghettii, Marinara Sauce, & Alfredo Sauce, penne noodles & another fun noodle(maybe bow ties) with tossed salad & French Bread (I'll freeze my leftover sauces) & either zucchini crisp or chocolate peanut butter pie

Sunday-*Zucchini, Corn & Tomato Saute w/ leftover bread and salad

For more great meal plans check out Org Junkie.

Happy Menu Planning!
Erica

Meal Plan

The weather lately has been amazing. I just want to stay outside all day long. I had expected August to be a bit warmer, but I'm not complaining. I have several crockpot meals this week and they are already making me very hungry.

I forgot to add my workouts last week but I'm still plugging away at the 30 day shred and I think I'll be ready for level 3 this week, how scary.

Breakfast

Banana Bread (making extra to freeze)

Smoothies

Homemade Yogurt

Cold Cereal

Breakfast Cookies (making extra to freeze)

Lunch

Leftovers or Sandwiches

Dinner

Monday-Pork Carnitas (modifying to put in the crockpot) served with tortillas, blackbeans, salsa, & rice

Tuesday-Baked Potato Bar (cooked in the crockpot) with pork as topping, broccoli & cheese served with a side salad

Wednesday-Spaghetti Alla Carbonara, didn't get to this a few weeks ago, salad, squash

Thursday-Tamale Pie in Crockpot (didn't get to it last week), tomato wedges, salad & fruit

Friday-Leftovers

Saturday-Grilling Pork Chops, some sort of veggie and salad

Sunday-Pizza Omlets & steamed veggies (Salad for dinner)

For more menu ideas check out Org Junkie.

Happy Meal Planning!

Erica

Menu for the Week

I'm excited to try quite a few new recipes this week. It's very strange to go almost 2 weeks with only 1 new recipe. New recipes I'm trying have an asterisk beside it so I can't vouch for them yet, but they looked pretty tasty when I found them. There have only been a couple of recipes I've tried over the past year that didn't make it into our cookbook. I love adding to our family favorite cookbook and hope these will be keepers.

Here's the game plan is this week:

Nothing special for breakfast or lunches. Cold cereal, leftovers, pretty boring.

Monday: *Crockpot Rigatoni, Homemade French bread, Garden Salad & Cooked Carrots

Tuesday: *Italian Squash Boats, w/ leftover loaf of french bread, & side salad

Wednesday: *Cuban Chicken Salad w/ chips & fruit

Thursday: Tamale Pie (modified and cooked in crockpot), tomato wedges (hopefully from garden) & fruit

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: (Our for lunch) Grilling Pork Chops, Side Salad, Deviled Eggs & steamed zucchini

Sunday: *Greek Zucchini Pie & fruit (Popcorn and snack food for dinner)

For more great meal plans check out Org Junkie.

Weekly Menu Plan

This week is another non adventurous week in the kitchen because after a week off from sewing it's time to get started again. I have several projects waiting for some attention, so I thought I'd keep meals simple this week and stick to things we already have ingredients for.

I also decided that since the Food Pyramid includes exercise I would start adding it to my menu plan too. I've been a little on the unmotivated side the last few weeks, and since it's too hot to run I bought a new DVD . I'm testing it's claims, so if anyone else is up to do the 30 day shred with me, we'll be in pain together. I love it already and it's nice that it's a killer of a workout in less than 30 minutes. (I got mine at Target.)

Kitchen To Do List This Week:

Replenish my mixes!

Freezer Strawberry or Peach Jam!

Maybe canning some peaches??? I'm still in the air about this one. I'm a little nervous even after reading a book about preserving fruits and veggies.

Breakfast:

Yogurt, Smoothies, Cinnamon Toast on Homemade Wheat Bread, Cold Cereal & Waffles (from the freezer)

Lunch:

Leftovers like usual

Dinner:

Monday-(Rescheduled to this week) Crockpot BBQ meatballs, potato salad, Cooked Carrots & Frosty Orange Cream Dessert

Day 5 of The Shred (level One)

Tuesday-Blueberry Pancakes, little smokies, Garlic Skillet Potatoes

Day 6 of The Shred (level one)

Wednesday-Manwiches on Homemade Texas Toast, Potato Salad, Garden Salad

Day 7 of The Shred (moving on to level two!)

Thursday-Red Beans & Rice, Corn on the Cob & Watermelon

Day 8 of the Shred (level two)

Friday-Leftover Night

Day 9 of the Shred (level two)

Saturday-Grilling burgers & hotdogs, oven fries & baked beans

Day 10 of the Shred (level two)

Sunday-Spaghetti Carbonara, Tossed Salad, Peas

Rest day

For more great meal plans check out Org Junkie!

Monday Meal Plan

We had such a fun and relaxing weekend being around family and enjoying some time out on the water. Thankfully we even brought home a few leftovers, which we will add to our meals this week!

You'll want to check out my giveaway this week too. I am giving away an apron from my etsy shop, From Head 2 Toe. Entry in this giveaway is as simple as leaving me a comment. Go here to enter. The giveaway closes Sunday at 10:00 p.m.

Back to meal planning, here's what I came up in the car ride home today. Since I didn't have a computer or cookbooks it's very simple. I can't wait for a low key week in the kitchen.

Breakfast

Banana Bread

Homemade Yogurt

Toast

Cold Cereal

Smoothies

Lunch

Leftovers like always

Dinner

Monday- Tamales (given to us by my parents), Chips & Homemade Salsa, Spanish Rice & Grapes

Tuesday-Spaghetti, Green Beans, Salad & Homemade French Bread

Wednesday- Doubling to bring to friends with a newborn BBQ meatballs, Cole slaw, tossed salad & Frosty Orange Cream Dessert

Thursday-Sour Cream Enchiladas (recipe to come), tomato wedges, side salad

Friday-Leftovers

Saturday-BBQ Pork Loin (marinating in Teriyaki sauce, then grilling), veggies & fruit

Sunday-Baked Potatoes with cheese and broccoli and a side salad

Stumped at what to fix, check out hundred's of menu plans over at The Happy Housewife.

Happy Menu Planning!

Erica

Meal Plan for the Week

I have a few new recipes planned for the week and oddly enough they all involve chicken. I bought a 10 lb. bag of chicken a while back and have been needing to use it up so it will free up some space in our freezer. I didn't really think about the lack of variety until I took a peek at our menu this week, oops. My husband is either going to enjoy every meal or be craving some red meat this week. We shall see.

Monday-Bruschetta Chicken Bake, garden salad & corn

Tuesday-Rotisserie Chicken in the crock pot over rice & squash

Wednesday-Chicken Fried Rice loaded with lots of veggies (using up chicken & rice from the night before), & fruit

Thursday-Chicken Blackbean Nachos with all the fixings and fruit

Friday-leftovers

Saturday-Family reunion and I'm bringing hummus with veggies and crackers & homemade salsa (our family likes to eat when we get together)

Sunday-more reunion time I'm bringing Blueberry muffins & Reeces Squares.

Stumped at what to fix this week? Get some inspiration from several menus around the country. Go to Org Junkie to check it out.

Happy Menu Planning!

Erica

Meals for the Week

We had such a great weekend with family. Our newest little family member is sure a sweetie. I'm starting to think that there is never a normal week, last week was VBS and this week we have a lot of random things going on, so our menu will include more eating out than we usually do.

Breakfast
Biscuits
Smoothies & Toast
Waffles
Cold Cereal

Dinner
Monday- Biscuits and Gravy, Garlic Potatoes & Cantaloupe

Tuesday-Dinner with my MIL, she'll be in town any suggestions on where we should go?

Wednesday-Crockpot Philly Cheese Steak & Italian Herbed Bread (I didn't get to this last week, but I'm soooo looking forward to trying it) with some steamed veggie

Thursday-Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Friday-Leftovers

Saturday-Grilling Chicken Legs, baked beans & Corn

Sunday-Celebrating 7 years of marriage to an amazing man. I'll probably fix him one of his favorite meals for lunch sour cream enchiladas or fried tacos, but shhh don't tell him.

Dessert of the week: Homemade Thin Mints

Check out other great menus this week over at Org Junkie

Menu for the Week

Thanks so much for all the great ideas of what to do with the hunk of pork I had taking up too much room in my freezer. All of your ideas made me very hungry. I wish I could make every single one of them this week, but I now have plenty of ideas for the future. This week I only have $40 for groceries so I had to do something I already had ingredients for, which is all of the things you've suggested. Whatever I'm in the mood for that day will grace our plates. I'll share on Thursday what we had.

Breakfast
We've been having lots of cold cereal and toast for breakfast recently and I'm feeling the need to change it up a bit. I made some blueberry muffins along with banana muffins this morning, which will help give us a little variety this week. I'm also hoping to make smoothies and toast. My toddler hasn't tried these yet and he's doing great drinking from a big boy cup so we will see how it goes.

Dinner
VBS is this week so it's crockpot week! Perfect timing because it's stinkin' hot out.

Monday-Crockpot Green Bean Tater Tot Casserole, Steamed Corn on the Cob & Strawberries

Tuesday-BBQ Pulled Pork or Carnitas or Kalua Pork??? (let me know which one you would choose. See comments in the post below for more info)

Wednesday-Crockpot Philly Cheese Steak on Italian Herbed Bread

Thursday-Dinner for VBS

Friday-Leftovers

Saturday-Getting to meet my newest niece

Sunday-Out

Dessert for VBS Workers
No Bake 5 Ingredient Reeces Peanut Butter Bars

For more great menus be sure to visit Org Junkie.

Happy Menu Planning!
Erica

Weekly Meal Plan

I hope you guys had a great 4th of July Weekend. We had a blast seeing family once again this weekend, and am thankful to have today to recover from all the festivities.

This week I'm trying quite a few new recipes I can't wait. The new recipes have an asterisk beside them. I'll let you know how they turn out. Feel free to try them and let me know what you think.

Monday-*Garlicky Pasta w/ fresh tomato & Basil, green beans & fruit

Tuesday-Manicotti, Salad & zucchini, & French Bread

Wednesday-*Chicken and Squash Saute with Rice (didn't get to this last week)

Thursday-Leftovers

Friday-*Sliders & Oven Fries & Steamed Veggies

Saturday-*Grilling *Honey Garlic Pork Tenderloin, biscuits w/ honey butter, zucchini & fruit

Sunday-Leftovers or Hot Dogs

For more great meal plans check out Menu Plan Monday's home.

Monday Meal Plan

This week just flew by. I can't believe it's time to start a new week once again. The great news is it's a 4 day week for my husband!!!! I'm looking forward to having another day together as a family.

I'm really looking forward to spending the 4th of July with my family. It's always such a great time of enjoying each other. I'm so blessed to have a great extended family.

So I feel like I have a millon things to do this week but really hope to make some yummy blueberry muffins and a batch of blueberry waffles since they are on sale at Aldi this week.

Here's what's planned for the week:

Monday- Scalloped Potatoes & Ham (in crockpot), Steamed Broccoli, Watermelon

Tuesday-Chicken & Squash Saute with Rice, Tossed Salad

Wednesday-Hamloaf meatballs (in crockpot), Steamed Broccoli & tossed salad

Thursday-Lentil Sloppy Joes, cooked carrots

Friday- Eating up leftovers

Saturday-bringing 4th of July Cake Balls & a salad......any suggestions I'm stumped?

Sunday-Breakfast for lunch and snacks for dinner

For more great menus check out Monday Menu Plan's Home.

Monday Menu Plan

We are home! Yesterday was a great day of napping, unpacking and celebrating Father's Day. We had a great trip and we'll find out more in the next month about when we can start a new job.

So here's our menu for the week:
Monday-Chicken Tettrazini, Mixed Veggies & Salad

Tuesday-Fuss Free Ravioli & Cheese Bake (check back on Thursday for recipe for homemade ravioli), Steamed Broccoli & Salad

Wednesday-Mexican Lasagne, Cooked Carrots & Salad

Thursday-Leftovers

Friday-It's my Birthday so I'm hoping for a free day in the kitchen

Saturday-Headed to a Reunion: Bring your own picnic lunch and I may make Sour Cream Enchiladas or we'll grab something with friends for dinner.

Sunday-Pot Luck Family Reunion I'm bringing hummus, pita bread, cut up carrots & homemade Twix Bars (I tried this recipie two weeks ago and oh boy are they yummy)

For other menu plans please check out Org Junkie.

Happy Menu Planning!
Erica

No Menu This week

Since we are out of town this week for our big interview and our meals are provided I don't have a menu . I'm so excited for a little respite from the kitchen, I do enjoy cooking but it's always nice to have a little break. I'm especially looking forward to not having to do kitchen clean up for an entire week. What a blessing.

Don't worry this respite isn't too long. I'll be back at it next week. I've have quite a few post scheduled for this week, so keep checking back this week for more Effortless Savings goodness.

Blessings!
Erica

This Week's Meal Plan

This week looks like a busy week in the kitchen. I'm going to be working on a few more freezer meals this week along with what's planned among the various other things I have planned for the week. It looks like I'm going to be working my tail off during my son's naps this week. Now we will see how quiet I can be at the same time. I didn't get around to making any banana bread and seriously need to get on top of that. I also hope to makes these homemade twix bars. My husband is super excited about them.

Breakfast:
Homemade Yogurt
Banana Bread
Toast & Eggs
Waffles

Lunch:
Whatever we decide that day. (This girl needs a little bit of spontaneity.)

Meal Plan:
Monday-Hot Dogs, Steamed Veggies & Salad
Tuesday-Harvest Pot Roast with Sweet Potatoes & Salad
Wednesday-BBQ Beef Sandwiches (using up the leftover roast from Tuesday), Homemade bread & veggies
Thursday-Honey Teriyaki Chicken, Rice & Steamed Veggies
Friday-Mexican Yellow Squash w/Cubed Pork Steaks, Salad & Fruit
Saturday-Leftovers or Sandwiches
Sunday-Dinner with Family

You'll want to check out other meal plans over at Org Junkie.

Menu this week

Well this week's menu looks a little lame, I was really at a loss of putting the energy in to finding some new recipes this week. June sort of snuck up on me and I didn't have a lot of ideas already.

I am planning on having a baking day this week. I've have plenty of Bananas in the freezer just waiting to be turned into some tasty banana bread and last week's recipe swap I saw a recipe for homemade whole wheat English muffins that I can't wait to try. I also can't wait to try these cake balls. I've been waiting for the perfect opportunity to try them and I'm so pumped because I have a baby shower I'm helping with this coming weekend. So cake balls here I come. I'm also in love with this bread machine. If I would have known how wonderful they were I would have snagged my mom's earlier. I'm eager to try out some new recipes, if you have a favorite I'd love for you to pass it on.

Breakfast
Cold Cereal, English Muffins, homemade toast, banana bread

Dinner
Monday-Taco Salad with all the fixins
Tuesday-Baked Ziti, salad, steamed carrots and homemade bread (in bread machine)
Wednesday-Leftovers
Thursday-Pasta Salad
Friday-Crockpot Mac & Cheese with Large Salads (hopefully I'll make some homemade croutons too)
Saturday-Grilling Brats, sweet potatoes (in crock pot), steamed veggies & Salad
Sunday-Pancakes, Eggs & Sausage Patties

For more great ideas check out Menu Plan Monday's home over at Org Junkie.

Monday Meal Plan

I hope everyone is having a great Memorial Day Weekend. Our family is certainly enjoying our long weekend together. I am very thankful to be raised in a country who desires to defend freedom and extremely thankful for the men and women who have given their lives for the sake of our country.

It's back to the swing of things this week in the kitchen. I'm trying to utilize my crockpot so we can delay turning on the AC another couple of weeks. We are loving our energy and gas bills being so low. It's a blessing to see how God provided a few months of low bills so that we could afford another grad class for my husband this summer. He certainly provides for our needs.

We hopefully will get to enjoy the company of my in-laws the end of this week, so I actually planned some breakfasts this week, hopefully cooking breakfast will motivate me to get out of bed and go jogging in the morning. We shall see, we shall see, the tricky part is doing so and not waking up our Toddler.

Breakfast:
Homemade Yogurt & Fruit
Pumpkin Apple Muffins
Baked Oatmeal
Sausage Biscuit Bake

Dinner:
Monday-Visiting Family

Tuesday-Crockpot ribs courtesy of my parents, spinach salad, and cooked carrots

Wednesday-Tuna Melts, Salad (our first from our garden!!!), and Sweet Potato Fries

Thursday-(Crockpot) Shredded Steak Sandwiches, salad, & Fruit

Friday-Greek Meatballs, Hummus, Homemade Pita Bread, & Greek Salad

Saturday-(Crockpot) Chicken with White Beans and Chorizo, Steamed Rice, & Steamed Veggies

Sunday-Leftovers

Check out what others are having all around the country by visiting Org Junkie.

Monday Menu Plan

Well it's another freezer week, which means I've already prepare these meals and all that's left is to heat them up. I hope it will give me more time to concentrate on sewing this week. I have a ton of fabric just calling my name.

Here's the plan for the week:
Monday-Shredded BBQ Chicken over Rice, Steamed Veggies
Tuesday-Chicken Chimichangas, Tomato Wedges & Steamed Veggies
Wednesday-Sweet & Sour Chicken, Sweet Potato cubes
Thursday-Leftovers
Friday-Chili Kolaches, steamed veggies & fruit
Saturday-Tacos with all the fixins and fruit
Sunday-Tuna Melts, oven fries & steamed veggies

Check back on Tuesday for the breakdown of how to prepare the main freezer meals in 2 1/2 hours start to finish, recipes will follow I promise.

For more menu plans make sure you visit Meal Plan Monday at Org Junkie for great ideas.